Jeff Sessions resigns as attorney general at Trump’s request

President Trump announced on Twitter that Sessions's chief of staff, Matthew G. Whitaker, will serve as acting attorney general until a replacement is confirmed.

Mr Trump announced in a tweet that Mr Sessions would be temporarily replaced by his own chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker.

Sessions, a former U.S. senator for Alabama, was one of the earliest supporters of, but nearly immediately ran into controversy in the new administration.

"So I could see a scenario where Jeff Sessions is replaced with a recess appointment", Whitaker said, "and that attorney general doesn't fire Bob Mueller, but he just reduces his budget to so low that his investigation grinds to nearly a halt".

Trump wrote on Wednesday. The New York Times is reporting that the President "forced out" Sessions for recusing himself in Robert Mueller's investigation, which is now picking back up after the midterms.

Sessions was an enforcer of much of the Trump administration's hardline approach on immigration and regularly praised the President's tough words on crime. "It's very sad", Trump said during a scathing interview with Hill.TV in September. "We've already heard rumors on the wind about Sessions' tenure, so suddenly we could have a President that understands that if I control the Department of Justice, I control this investigation".

Whitaker, who will now oversee the Mueller investigation, wrote an op-ed for CNN.com in August, 2017, arguing the Mueller would be going too far if he were investigating Trump's finances. Lindsey Graham is measuring drapes. "As our country's top law enforcement official, he has been integral in fighting the opioid epidemic, keeping violent criminals off our streets, and supporting victims", the statement read.

When pressed, the president declined to say what those changes might be.

He also was the central figure in a memorable June 13 Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that was part of the panel's ongoing Russian Federation meddling probe. Trump has always been displeased with his decision to recuse himself from the Justice Department's probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.